Author Spotlight: Linda M. Crate

February 17, 2017

This will be the last weekly spotlight- I have had such a great response from those i’ve reached out to that I’d like to make it a monthly thing. However, as Crate was quite prompt in her response time, I decided to go ahead and do this one.

Next month around this time, I will be featuring artist Heather Davies-DeVoe; keep an eye out for that.

Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. She has three published chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing Into Dawn (Fowlpox Press – June 2013), Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon – January 2014), and If Tomorrow Never Comes (Scars Publications, August 2016). Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015. The second novel of this series Dragons & Magic was published in October 2015. The third of the seven book series Centaurs & Magic was published November 2016. Her novels Corvids & Magic and Phoenix Tears are forthcoming.

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Interview (I apologize for the blocky formatting- not sure what happened and I couldn’t fix it!):

How long have you been a writer/artist? I have written since I was a child so my whole life, really. I didn’t really get into writing as an everday thing until I was about thirteen, though.

Of your own work, which specific piece would you be excited to be known best for? I write a lot of different pieces in a lot of different mediums. I would love to be known for my novels or my poetry which are the things I frequently work on the most.

Where do you get your ideas? I am inspired by everything and anything: other poets, authors, and writers; the weather, music, events in my own life, phrases that my friends or strangers (maybe even myself) say, a single phrase that just won’t let me rest until it’s written that rattles around my head, movies, television, etc.

How do you overcome writer’s/artist’s block? I take nature walks, listen to music, watch anime, talk to someone be it a friend or family member, take a shower, leave the project for a while and come back later essentially. Sometimes you have to just walk away for the day and come back to it with fresh eyes the next day – sometimes it’s just an hour or two before my mind kicks it into high gear and decides to cooperate with me.

In which genre do you enjoy working the most (horror, mystery, abstract, etc.)? Poetry and fantasy, it seems, are my favorites. However, I try not to limit myself to one genre. I generally have fragments of each genre in my fantasy novels, but they’re usually considered young adult. I don’t go for a certain genre. I just start writing and see where it takes me. I am also fond of finding the beautiful in mysterious and dark things so horror is sometimes very prevalent on my mind ironically enough usually not around Halloween but in the middle of winter or sometimes even spring.

How long does it take you to complete a project? It really depends on the project and how motivated I am to complete it. Novels can take anywhere from a few months to a year depending on my muse. Lately, novels have been written mostly in a few months.

Poetry, essays, reviews, and short stories take a significantly shorter amount of time given their format. Those can take anywhere from minutes (generally poetry only) to a few hours. Although, I like writing essays for 10 in ten minutes. I think it’s helping with my speed writing, and that’s always a good thing for a girl who always has too many ideas in her head. I always have something to be working on.

7. What would you tell aspiring writers/artists?

Never give up on your dream. Follow your heart. Keep pushing, keep going; swallow down your fear and your pride and face negativity head on. But never stop. Keep going no matter what. One day I got nineteen rejections in one day – after wiping the tears from my face, I got back to writing. This happened a couple of years ago before my first novel was published. If you are dedicated and hard-working then you can make your dreams come true. Don’t let anyone discourage you from your craft. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

8. Do you do anything in order to prepare for your writing sessions?

Not usually. Sometimes I write better without music. Sometimes I need music to inspire my muse to wake up.

9. And, most importantly, do you have a favorite hot or cold beverage and/or snack that you like to have with you while working?

I don’t have to have anything whilst writing, but I do sometimes venture over for a snack of cookies (my favorite – especially sugar cookies) or fruit. As for drinks it’s usually water; tea, hot chocolate, iced tea, or juice. Sometimes lemonade – as it’s my favorite.

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If there is anything else you’d like to know, feel free to ask what you like in the comments. When I give the option to ask questions and to connect with the author, I expect a modicum of respect. I will delete any attempts to be a horrid troll.

If there are other authors/artists you would like to learn about, or if you would like to be featured, let me know- but be realistic. i’ll have an easier time trying to contact an indy than i would stephen king or tim burton. although, how marvelous would that be?